Agricultural behemoth Monsanto spent a whopping $1.5 billion on R&D last year, or about 11% of its revenue—a percentage that’s pretty much in line with Amazon’s spending.
Based on an R&D pipeline update Monsanto gave last week, it’s clear the company will increasingly be directing its resources toward what chief technology officer Robb Fraley called “the next generation of advanced biotech tools” that range from CRISPR to Meganucleases to zinc fingers.
It’s the precision of these tools that is key here, as is the fact that regulatory agencies currently do not view them in the same category as GMOs (and therefore are not subject to the same lengthy regulatory reviews.) “That offers the opportunity to reduce cost and time, which is really critical,” Fraley said.
Related on the SLP
This reduction in cost and time it takes to get these traits to market has the potential for Monsanto and its competitors to avoid some of the criticisms they have faced through their work with GMOs.
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. Read full, original post: Monsanto’s New Biotech Tools Must Avoid the Same Public Relations Fate as GMOs
